Kanaka (Human)
by RaeBeth13
Summary: Steve, Danny, Catherine and Grace head over to the mainland for a vacation. Danny is struggling with Grace's direction in life and seeks Steve's help in trying to talk her around. Steve believes that Danny is over reacting, as usual, but agrees to help him out. As Steve and Grace spend some time together, disaster strikes leaving him fighting to save Grace no matter what the cost.
1. Chapter 1

The rotors of the helicopter cut through the sub zero air above them, as they headed to safety. Soaring above the snow capped mountains, back to civilization. Back to the real world. But what kind of world had they been left with?

Catherine sat dazed on one of the bench seats, glaring into thin air, her eyes were vacant yet her expression showed that of complete devastation. Her body rocked, surrendering to every movement of the aircraft.

Danny sat opposite her, with Grace wrapped protectively in his arms. Truth be told, he didn't know who was protecting who. If she hadn't have been here, if he hadn't needed to be strong for her, he would have lost the hold on his emotions some time ago. She was the only thing forcing him to remain composed.

"This is my fault, Danno." Grace said softly as she looked up at her father.

He frowned, pained that she could even think such a thing. "No baby. Don't you think that for one minute." He whispered sincerely. He could still feel her shivering despite of the warmed blankets she'd been wrapped in. Her lips tinged with blue, the skin cracked from the elements. "It's going to be ok… it's going to be fine…" he continued before his eyes drifted over to a jacket, belonging to Steve, carelessly discarded on the floor of the helicopter when she'd gotten in and immediately treated by the rescue medics. His heart sank, he could feel the rush of sadness engulf his mind and his eyes started to burn as the tears welled in his eyes. "Just relax… okay" he whispered as he pulled her tighter against his chest.

 **H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50**

2 days earlier…

"You done boss?" Kono asked as she stepped into his office.

Steve closed the computer lid and looked up. "Yeah, all my reports are up to date and logged… don't count on Danny's being done though." He grinned.

"A week in Colorado, skiing… I'm jealous."

"Snowboarding… and I'm sure if you gave him the slightest hint Danny would trade you the ticket."

"Surly he's looking forward to the time with Grace?" she smirked. "He's been trying to take her on vacation forever."

"Yeah, I just think he was hoping her choice in destination would be a certain concrete jungle, west of Manhattan and not throwing himself down the side of a mountain."

She grinned. "What time's your flight?"

Steve looked at his watch. "Leaves in four hours. Cath got there last night."

"You must be looking forward to seeing her, huh?" Kono answered.

"I can't wait." He sighed with relief.

"Do me a favour." Danny growled as he walked through the door. "Use this week to try and talk some sense into my daughter."

"I'm sorry… I know a DNA test hasn't been done but I'm pretty sure that falls under your job description." Steve replied with confusion.

"Not when she gets all her ideas off of you." Danny hissed, glancing at Kono. "I just got off the phone to Grace… my thirteen year old daughter wants to use this vacation to train."

Steve shrugged with confusion.

"A fundraiser… hiking up Mauna Kea on the big island, in the fall, with her Adventure Scouts. She's chosen to raise money for wounded service personnel."

"Sounds like a noble cause." Kono nodded.

"Noble, yes… out of her mind, crazy dangerous… absolutely. Sound like anyone we know?" Danny answered.

"And this is my fault, how?" Steve frowned.

"Because for some reason, that I will never understand, the more she gets older the more she seems to idolize you, of all people." He growled before looking back at Kono. "One minute he takes her to Pearl Harbour for a tour, she comes back in total awe… doesn't stop talking about it for weeks… the next thing she's joining this Adventure Scouts group and planning to stroll up the side of a snow covered volcano…"

"Dorment volcano." Steve whispered.

Danny glared at him for his interruption. "You were the one she got the idea of going to Colorado from. Talking about one of your buddies from SEAL team whatever having this place in the mountains."

"Actually, that was Catherine, one of her friends from Navy Intel. But don't let that get in the way of your meltdown." Steve interrupted again with even more amusement.

Danny tightened his jaw but chose to ignore him. "It's only a matter of time before she starts talking about being in the Navy and before I know it she'll be patrolling the streets of Kabul wearing fatigues and holding a rifle."

"It's a hike, Danny. An innocent hike with a group of people she likes to spend time with, for a cause she has interest in helping with. It's not BUD's." Steve raised his eyebrows.

"You know, I did that hike when I was about her age." Kono answered. "Taught me a lot about strength and determination."

"There you go…" Steve said with his hand out to Kono.

"I'd be happy to chaperone her if they are looking for helpers." Kono nodded.

"Yeah, so would I." Steve nodded.

Danny sighed with frustration. "I'm going to pick my daughter up from school, go home and pack. I suggest you use the time between now and meeting you guys at the airport to think of how you are going to make this situation better."

"Better for you or better for her?" Steve grinned.

"Do you even comprehend the level at which I am at with hating you right now?" Danny answered as he turned for the door.

"I'll see you at the airport Danno." Steve smirked.

Danny left without another word.

"A full week with each other… should be interesting." Kono raised her eyebrows as she turned to Steve. "Cath and Grace know what they are in for?"

"It's going to be great." Steve nodded with a smile.

 **H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50**

Danny sighed as they neared the top of the mountain, on the chair lifts, with Grace. Steve and Catherine were two chairs behind. Danny thought this was more deliberate on Steve's behalf than accidental. He'd at least get a good view if Danny was to fall flat on his face.

Grace looked at him. "You have done this before, right Danno?" she asked softly.

"Have I done this before?" he answered positively. "Monkey, I used to be Jerseys answer to Bode Miller." He lied. "It's just been a few years since I last went down a very steep and very angry looking mountain." He said as he looked at the slope. "Might take me a couple of runs before I'm back to my A game."

The climb suddenly subsided and Danny knew this would be challenge one, getting off the chair without stacking and prompting the hyena behind him. He conjured up all his concentration as his ski's hit the snow and he pushed himself up and clear of the chair. Gliding down the ramp he was pleased with himself until it came to the stopping.

In his panic he'd let one ski cross the other prompting him to fall forward towards the snow only to have his skis prevent him actually making it to the ground. When he finally threw himself sideways into a mound of snow he knew it was anything but graceful and he knew the hyena would have seen it.

To add insult to injury, Danny was agitated by two young children with their ski instructor, who glided past him with complete ease and laughed with pity before disappearing at high speed. Then came Steve. "What are you doing?" he asked, not even trying to hide the amusement in his voice.

"I'm having a coffee." He growled. "What do you think?"

Steve laughed. "Here…" he said holding out his hand.

"I can do it." Danny snipped stubbornly as he pushed himself up to his feet but clumsily sliding forward with little control. He stopped by grabbing hold of Grace's arm and stood straight when he gained his balance like it was nothing. "I'd forgotten that these runs look steeper at the top than they do down the bottom." He stuttered as he looked down.

"Maybe you should have done some of the easier slopes first off Danny?" Cath answered helpfully.

"He'll be fine. It's like riding a bike, you'll remember it once you start." Steve said encouragingly.

Grace bounced up and down impatiently, standing up after fixing her second boot to her board. The only reason Danny was up here was because this was all about spending time with Grace and yet he was only holding her back. "You guys head down, I'll meet you at the bottom. I'm going to take my time."

"No Danno, I'll wait with you." She shook her head.

"You'll catch up to me on the next run down. Go…" he nodded softly.

"I'll come with you, Grace." Cath nodded before looking at Steve. "You coming?"

"You know what? I'm going to stick with Danny… I think he has a point, just slowly getting back into it. It's been a couple of years for me too." Steve excused himself.

"Okay… well then let's go Grace." Catherine smiled before the pair cut their boards through the snow and treeline, disappearing.

Steve and Danny watched them. Steve wore a stupid grin and Danny's expression was simply filled with the horror he hadn't been able to show before now.

"You've never skied before. Have you?" Steve said as he held his eyes down the mountain.

"Never." Danny replied.

Steve turned to Danny with a disapproving look. "Right, so your Bode Miller of Jersey story…"

"All lies." Danny nodded.

"That's… that's great." Steve nodded.

"Don't judge me. I just wanted to do something for my daughter, spend some quality time bonding with her."

"What? In the hospital?" Steve growled knowing that it was now his responsibility to not only talk him down the mountain but to physically get him down. "Do you know anything about skiing?"

"I know that it's suicidal. I know that." Danny nodded.

"Let me ask you a question. How were you planning to get down?"

"On my ass if I had too." Danny nodded.

"Okay…" Steve sighed. "Well let's try and do it on your skis."

Danny exhaled a heavy breath.

"You need to go from one side of the slope to the other, when you turn you need to get your ski's facing across and not downhill, otherwise you're going to end up in a tree and that's going to hurt." Steve explained.

"Are you trying to throw me off completely?" Danny growled.

"You don't want my help? Fine… go ahead… go." Steve nodded as he pointed down the hill.

"Just… help me." Danny winced with frustration.

"Don't try to keep your skis flat on the ground as you're going across, you'll just slip down sideways. They have sharp edges for a reason, use them to cut through the snow on an angle."

Danny nodded before he started, cautiously yet successfully gliding to the other side and then turning to repeat.

"Yeah Danny!" Steve called out with pride. "Keep doing that and you'll be fine."

"Four years I've survived with you and in this moment, this is what is going to kill me." Danny shouted nervously.

"Why don't you shut up and concentrate. You're doing great." He said encouragingly as he watched him from the top so he could easily provide assistance if Danny got into trouble.

Danny zigzagged about 8 times without issue before he hit a small sheet of ice, causing his ski's to slip further than he planned down the hill. As they involuntarily faced slightly more toward downhill he picked up speed. The only way he could think of stopping was to throw himself into the mounds of snow piled on the side of the slope in the hope it would cushion him more than a tree. The piled snow was deceiving, a lot harder than it looked but still the better option. He awkwardly fumbled around with his stocks and ski's, trying to get his legs and feet back around into their natural way.

Steve slipped down the snow with complete ease on his board and over into Danny's direction, but couldn't resist showering Danny with a wave of snow as he stopped.

Danny glared at him, unimpressed by his antics.

"Come on Danny, lets go." Steve nodded. "You sit here long enough you'll talk yourself out of carrying on."

"I think that ship has well and truly sailed." Danny moaned.

Steve shook his head with amusement. "Come on."

 **H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50**

The wooden cabin sat at the foot of one of the quieter ski mountains in the Rockys. It was small, but it served its purpose with two bedrooms, a small living area, bathroom and a kitchen. The selling point had to be veranda that wrapped around two sides, looking up the ski fields. One span open and the other partially enclosed so you could still enjoy the crisp, winter nights in some kind of comfort on the garden furniture. The only light on the veranda was provided by several candles dotted around the enclosed area.

In the darkness of the night the pine trees seemed to glow with the snow that sat with ease on the needles and branches. The sky was clear with a magnitude of stars shining down like a painting. The only sounds were from the nocturnal wildlife and the distant rumble of the snow grooming machines in the distance.

It had been a day of fun, for most of them, although Danny insisted he'd suffered by the many falls he'd endured during his first and, self-declared, only time he would ever try skiing. He hadn't even been open to Steve's suggestion of snowboarding and had settled with the idea of finding a spot in the lounge of a bar for the rest of the week.

After dinner Catherine had decided to indulge in a long bath while Steve grabbed a couple of beers, suited up and headed out to sit on the veranda and enjoy some peace. He cracked open the lid and sank back into one of the wooden chairs, stretching his legs out in front of him and resting his head back. He closed his eyes, this was his idea of paradise.

The door swung open loudly as Danny exited, the noise his feet made seemed to match that of a stampede of elephants.

"You know there is a nice, warm fire going in there. What are you sitting out here for?"

"Peace." Steve sighed as he straightened his body, aggravated about the interruption.

Danny slumped down into another chair.

"Grace asleep?" Steve asked.

"Yeah."

Steve paused as he inhaled the cool air, looking out over the mountain. "She did well out there today." Steve nodded with approval. "She picked up boarding real quick. She's determined, Danny… I'll give you that." He said as he raised the bottle to his lips.

"You got a beer… did you get me a beer? Where's my beer?" Danny asked pointing.

Steve sighed and reached down beside his chair, pulling up his extra bottle of beer and handing it to Danny.

"She asked me if I'd take her hiking up the mountain tomorrow…" Steve said. "Thought I should check with you first."

"Are you going to talk to her?"

"About what, Danny?" Steve shrugged.

Danny shook his head defensively and shrugged. "Get her mind out of doing this hike to start with. Once you've done that you can start talking her out of any crazy career ideas she has in mind."

"Okay, first of all she's thirteen, Danny. You hold her back from things and she's going to want to do them more."

"And you are totally qualified in this field how?" Danny snarled.

"Apparently I remember my teenage years a little better than you do." He answered.

Danny thinned his lips with frustration. "I know I never once wanted to join an adventure scouts group. And I never had the slightest interest with the Navy."

"Danny… you would typically avoid anything that had the word adventure in it… it's a natural reaction to you. Grace lives in a place where military presence is a big thing. Of course she is going to have an interest in it. A lot of kids do on Oahu."

"Which makes number 6754 reasons I hate that island."

"Did you ever think that her interest could purely about learning and experiencing other things? About overcoming diversity? Perhaps even about helping others?" Steve answered with sarcasm dripping from his tone.

"It's a domino effect, Steven."

"Hiking a mountain for a fundraiser is hardly a precursor to a life of crime or a seat on a C17 bound for the Middle East." He replied.

"No, it's a precursor to becoming a lunatic. Taking stupid risks." Danny answered in an irrational tone.

"This drama, it's all in your head." He argued.

"And that's where I don't want it to be!" Danny sniped back.

Steve sighed, he knew he wouldn't get anywhere with Danny when he was in this kind of mood. He nodded. "I'll talk to her." He whispered.

"I'll talk her out of any ideas, that's what you were supposed to say." Danny pushed.

"I'll talk to her about any ideas she might have. That's as much as I can promise." Steve grinned.

"Thank you." Danny replied.

 **H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50**

"Good morning…" Catherine smiled as she walked into the kitchen where Steve was packing a small bag with water and snack bars.

"Hey…" he whispered softly as he kissed her. "How did you sleep?"

"I was out like a light." She pushed herself up to sit on the counter and grinned. "So Danny agreed to Grace heading up the mountain?"

He nodded as he swung the bag over his shoulder. "You wanna come with?"

"No… I'm going to go for a walk into town." She sighed.

"Okay, but I want you to myself this afternoon." He said, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Really… did you have any plans?"

"Something physical." He said with his boyish grin. "Very physical."

"I like the sound of that." She grinned as she placed her hands on the back of his head and kissed him.

"Be ready by one." He grinned as he released his hold on her.

She frowned.

"You and me, boarding…" he said with amusement that she could possibly be thinking of anything else.

She sighed with a grin. "Right."

"What were you…?" he started with shock. "You have a one track mind, you know that right?" he continued playfully.

"Shut up." She smacked him softly. "Go. Have fun."

He kissed her one last time before heading outside to join Grace.

"Okay kiddo… so you ready?"

"Yeah." She answered excitedly.

"Let's do this." He nodded.

 **H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50**

"Uncle Steve." Grace said with exhaustion as they navigated the trail.

He turned and saw her standing there, drawing back her breath. "We are so close to the summit Gracie. A couple of hundred feet and you'll be at the top."

"You said that 20 minutes ago." She protested.

"This time I mean it." He grinned. "You got to keep pushing yourself, Grace. You got to stay focused."

She sighed as she pushed on, following him for another five minutes before they came out to a clearing. A slight incline to the top of the world. "See Grace… you did it." He said proudly. "Now how bad would you have felt if you'd given up?"

"Bad." She said as she threw herself down on the ground.

"Right?" he nodded. "Here…" he offered her a bottle of water. "Check this view out."

She scanned the horizon, the smaller mountains that were below them and the clear blue sky ahead.

"There is nothing like feeling you're the only people in the world." He admired. "There's only one other place I've ever felt like that before."

"Where?" Grace asked.

He looked at her, hesitated for a moment before looking out over the ranges again. "On a deployment in the Middle East."

"Seriously?" Grace answered with surprise.

His eyes drifted down. "Yeah, I mean I was often on my own for lengths of time in the mountains. I thought I would hate it, turns out I didn't." He smiled softly as he walked over and sat down next to her. He sighed. "You know Danno is worried about this climb you have up Mauna Kea."

"It's totally safe. People do it every single day." She looked at him.

"I know that. But you know what he's like." He nodded. "Maybe you should talk about it with him? Show him how serious you are about wanting to do it. What it means to you."

Grace nodded gently.

"He's protective of you… I get that. He sees you as his baby girl still… and you are… but you're growing up and he needs a little help accepting that."

She nodded before they paused for a moment, lapping up the suns rays and enjoying the serenity until Grace looked at him again. "Uncle Steve?"

He looked at her.

"How did you know you wanted to be in the Navy?"

Steve turned to face her, perhaps Danny wasn't so wrong after all. He shrugged. "It was just something that seemed natural to me. Like I was expected to do it." He paused. "Family business."

"Were you ever scared?"

He thinned his lips and nodded gently. "Yeah…" he whispered. "Many times."

"Of getting hurt?"

He thought for a moment. If this were an adult he would be cutting this conversation off at this point, but there was something about his relationship with Grace. She had the genuineness about her, even at such a young age. He felt comfortable opening up. "Of getting hurt, of losing friends… but one of the biggest things for me was how much it would change me." He shrugged. "Being in places like that, with everything that goes on, it can strip everything away from you. Your trust, your freedom… your relationships… you see the world a lot differently. Not with the same kind of innocence you had before. That's tough to deal with."

Grace looked at him, her expression filled with sympathy.

His phone beeped, signalling a message. He skimmed over the words before turning to look behind them. An off white cloud was building. "That's a snow warning…" he said, standing up. "We should head back down. There's a track down here, it's the quickest way down and more sheltered."

"Okay." Grace stood up.

"I'm proud of you Grace." Steve said as he patted her on the back. "Real proud of you."

 **H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50**

Steve stopped to check the caller ID on his cell, he knew the signal was intermittent so he decided he should stay in one spot while he took the call. "Danny." He said, glancing at Grace. "No, we are fine." He nodded. "Yes, we got the weather warning and we are on our way down now. We should be around 30 minutes." He paused as he listened to his friends voice.

Grace looked around and noticed through the trees a group of deer. She smiled as she stepped carefully over, closer to them to take a picture on her cell.

"Yes Danny." Steve continued with a frustrated tone. "You know what? If you hang up we will get down there quicker." He nodded. "Okay. We will see you soon."

"Uncle Steve… look." Grace called out as she walked towards the deer, concentrating only on her phone's screen.

"White tailed deer. They're native to this area." Steve said as he walked over behind her. "Hey, Grace… remember what I said… stick to the trails."

"There's a baby." She gushed as she stepped into the deep and un-groomed snow on the edge of the trail. "My mom would love these."

"Ok, a couple more pictures and then we got to keep moving." Steve nodded as he looked up into the sky, it was clear for now but he didn't know how long it would stay that way. "Grace… come on… lets go." He repeated, walking over and touching her shoulder. Suddenly the ground gave way and the pair fell through the blanket of snow and ice.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Danny…" Catherine frowned as she walked out on the veranda. "What are you doing?"

He stood, fixated on the area Steve and Grace should be emerging from. "It's starting to snow, the wind is picking up… I spoke to Steve nearly an hour ago and he said they would be 30 minutes."

"So maybe they're being careful?"

"Or he's punishing me." Danny argued. "He likes doing that. He does it all the time."

Catherine smirked and shook her head.

Danny pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. "Okay, I have this tracking app on my phone which is linked to Graces." He said as he stepped over.

Catherine raised her eyebrows. She was surprised even though she knew she shouldn't have been.

"What's that look? Don't look at me like that. I'm a cop… don't judge me." He snapped before turning his attention back to the screen. "This is where the GPS picked up Grace's phone last."

"Okay…" Catherine nodded. "What's your point?"

"My point is, it last picked them up near the top of the mountain and that was over an hour ago."

"Danny, I admire your new found interest in using your phone as it was made to be used, but you can't rely on Apps you bought for $1.99 in a situation like this." She shook her head. "You need to come inside, open a beer. They'll be back soon."

"You know I'm going to kill him, right? You know that."

"Okay…" she rolled her eyes and grabbed his arm. "You can do that inside too."

 **H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50**

Steve looked up through the medium sized opening about 8 feet above them. It appeared they had fallen into a small cavity of large rocks. Grace had slipped into a shallow pool of ice cold water when she'd fallen.

Steve looked at her shivering as she crouched down on the dry ground to one side. "Here… Grace…" he whispered as he took off his own jacket and wrapped it around her. "Just let me figure out a way out and we'll be back at the cabin in no time, okay." He said calmly.

"Yeah…" she whispered.

He looked around, hoping that there would be parts of the rock that he could use to climb out. He sighed as he identified one part, lifting his foot up onto a narrow edge. When he pushed himself up his foot slipped on a sheet of ice, causing him to slip back down. He sighed with frustration as he looked back up, the snowflakes coming in fast and heavy, landing smoothly on his exposed face. "You checked your cell?"

"There's no service." Grace replied as she held it up.

Steve looked at his and shook his head. "Same." He whispered. He glanced to Grace again, noting that she was still shivering. Scanning their confined surroundings he noticed a small area which was protected by the snow falls, only just big enough for Grace to take shelter. He held out his hand and walked her over, placing her down and kneeling beside her as he clawed through his bag. "Here…" he said as he offered her a polar fleece to layer under his jacket.

"What about you?" she asked as he held the clothing out in front of her.

"I'll keep moving." He smiled gently.

She reluctantly took the fleece from him.

Steve looked at his watch. "It's been two and a half hours since I spoke to your dad. He'd be getting worried by now. People will be out looking for us soon, we just got to hang tight."

Grace nodded but he could see her concern.

"Hey…" he whispered as he tilted his head, cupping his hand under her chin softly to drawing her to look at him, giving her complete eye contact. "Trust me, okay?" He said with encouragement.

She seemed to relax with his voice, her shoulders dropping and nodding her head with more confidence. "Okay."

 **H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50**

The afternoon had worn on and now dusk was setting in. Danny knew something wasn't right, that this wasn't just Steve playing with his fragile mind. Something was seriously wrong. But he had been calmed, for the most part, by Catherine who had remained level headed.

With the sound of voices outside the cabin his nerves were set to soar again as he pushed back the net curtains and saw Catherine standing with to members of the Mountain Rescue Team. He hurried out and down the stoop, onto the cold crisp blanket of snow as the falling flakes whipped around them almost violently.

"Sir…" One of the men acknowledged him.

"Danny, this is Matt Rendwood and David Ashton." Catherine introduced cautiously.

"Has something happened?" Danny asked.

"No. I called them here." Catherine shook her head and looked to him.

"Right." Danny nodded. "What happened to the 'don't panic' attitude?" He asked quietly.

"Not panicking, just being cautious." Catherine replied.

"You're the young girl's father?" Matt asked, clutching a small note pad and pen in his hands.

"Grace… her name is Grace." Danny nodded urgently.

"And you were saying that your boyfriend is experienced in difficult conditions." He confirmed with Catherine.

"Yes, he's a SEAL." Catherine nodded.

"Well I guess if you have to be lost on the mountain, he's the person to be with." David said encouragingly.

"With all due respect, I'd rather she not be lost at all." Danny growled.

The pair could see Danny was distraught, completely different to Catherine's attitude. "We are going to get some people out there looking for them right away." Matt nodded.

"The weather report is saying it's expected to get worse." Danny nodded.

"For now it's considered manageable weather for us… and my guys will go up, we'll take each hour as it comes." Matt answered reassuringly.

"Thank you." Catherine nodded.

"We'll be in touch." David added as the pair made it back to their pickup.

Catherine knew the moment they drove away, Danny would be back in panic mode. She braced herself.

"Don't panic, you said. It will be fine, you said." Danny erupted.

"And it will." She nodded.

"Really? Is it? Because I've read about these kinds of disappearances. About how they don't find bodies until the snow has melted. We've had half a foot of snow already. They could be lying underneath it somewhere."

"These people are experienced. They know what they are doing, they know what they are looking for and they know how to look for it."

"I know that should make me feel better, but it really doesn't." he growled with frustration.

"Danny… Steve will take care of Grace. You know that."

He hesitated before nodding, he knew she was right.

 **H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50**

The snow was streaming relentlessly through the small hole, piling itself inside their tomb. Steve checked his watch, it was now nearing midnight and still they had not heard any signs of help. Their best option would be for him to lift Grace up to the opening, have her climb out and walk until she got help, but that was a massive risk in the weather they were experiencing and a risk he wasn't willing to take.

The catch twenty two was he was well aware that hypothermia was setting in. Having ensured Grace was warm enough, with as many layers as he could possibly spare, it had left him with only a few. His shivering had been under control up until now but the bone chilling cold had set in and his body was responding.

He knew that sitting down would be the worst thing he could do, moving around was at least providing him some kind of heat, however his body and mind was feeling fatigued.

"Uncle Steve?" Grace said softly.

"Yeah?" He whispered as he turned to her.

"You should have this back." She started to remove the jacket.

"No, Grace… you need to keep it on." He insisted.

"You're shivering." She said softly.

"Listen to me. My body has a better chance of handling the cold than yours does." He nodded. "And I promised Danno I would look after you. So you need to keep the jacket, okay?"

"Who's going to look after you?"

Steve smiled softly. "You're doing a great job of looking after me without the jacket, Grace." He whispered encouragingly.

 **H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50**

Danny glanced over at the clock above the fire place, it was close to three in the morning and he and Catherine had been sitting in silence for most of the night. The magnitude of the situation was now finally starting to filter through Catherine's mind, and although she knew that Steve's survival instinct was second to none she also knew that this wasn't just them sheltering from the storm. Something had happened, something serious.

She could feel the burn of the tears forming in her eyes, but she was reluctant to show them to Danny so she pushed her feelings back as much as she could.

Her cell phone chimed, she jumped at the sudden sound before scooping it off the arm of the chair and springing to her feet. "Hello?" she answered. It was a few moments before she glanced at Danny then nodded. "I understand." She whispered. "Thank you for calling."

"What?" Danny asked.

Catherine drew back a deep breath and then exhaled. "That was the mountain rescue coordinator. The search has been abandoned for now… they tried to stay up there as long as they could but the weather was making it too difficult."

"What does that mean?" Danny shrugged with desperation.

"They believe that the storm will pass in the next couple of hours, they'll head back up at first light."

Danny's eyes drifted down as he processed her words. "Okay, they will have been out close to 20 hours by that stage…" he rationalized. "I mean, can they survive in that?"

She didn't know how or if she should answer that.

"I'm going up there… I'm going to look for them myself." Danny said as he grabbed his things, her lack of response gave him all the justifications he needed.

"That's a crazy idea, Danny." She snapped. "This is not like walking up the trail on Diamond Head… if I thought us searching for them, in this weather, would help then I would have been out there hours ago. We could cause a bigger problem for those teams."

"Okay, Catherine… you don't understand." Danny pleaded.

"I don't understand?" She shrugged, hurt by his statement. "What don't I understand? I'm going through this with you. Someone I love is missing too. You don't think I would do everything I could possible to get him back?"

"Like you did in Afghanistan?" Danny growled.

She dropped her shoulders and parted her mouth. "Okay, Danny… you know what, I've had a feeling you've been wanting to say something ever since you got here… only you didn't, probably because you thought it would upset Steve. I get it. But he's not here right now… so go ahead… say what you need to say."

Danny gritted his teeth, he didn't want to get into a mud flinging match but at the same time he was quite prepared to distract himself from one kind of pain to deflect onto someone else, no matter how heart breaking or wrong it was. "You watched him be taken down by those people, thrown into the back of a pickup, taken away at gun point, and you did nothing." He said bitterly.

"I had the lives of a dozen children in my hands… children that couldn't defend themselves." She answered. "I've gone through that moment a million times, I knew Steve had a chance, especially with you and Joe on side… but I knew those kids didn't if I'd been taken or shot too." She paused, the torment of her decision still clearly haunted her. "Children Grace's age and younger, Danny. Used against their will to fight for something they didn't even understand let alone believe in."

Danny paused as he put her words into perspective, he knew damn well what was at risk, and why she did it. He could appreciate her position even if he couldn't completely relate. He could, however, relate to Steve and the struggles he came home with. Both physically and mentally. "Did he tell you what happened over there?"

Her eyes drifted down. "No…" she whispered.

He creased his brow, revisiting the moments in his mind. "When that team reached him, he was seconds… and I mean seconds, away from being killed. I saw the video footage, what they did to him, how they held him back with a blade against his neck." He paused. "The look in his eyes… it will haunt me forever."

Catherine frowned with sadness, it had clearly impacted Danny more than she had ever imagined but she was equally horrified at what Steve had endured.

"They secured him, got him back to the Forward Operating Base… he was beat up. His face was so swollen it didn't even look like Steve." He paused. "And when he came around, the only thing that he was worried about was you. In his mind he had to get back out there for you." He shook his head. "I mean he was willing to go against orders and risk being thrown into military prison just to make sure you were okay."

Catherine nodded gently. "And so when I called him and told him that I was staying…" she whispered, understanding where Danny was coming from. "It looked like I had nothing for him."

He nodded.

"Believe me when I tell you it wasn't the case, nor was it that simple." She shook her head.

"Steve said the same thing… I thought he was justifying it to himself, trying to make himself accept your decision better. Maybe I was wrong."

"The only reason why I am back is because of Steve. I moved heaven and earth to make sure the village was safe, that Amir and his family were secure. I couldn't have their blood on my hands, but I couldn't let the best thing, that's ever happened to me, go either." She said with sincerity. "And I'm not going to do it now."

"That's the thing, Cath." He paused as he looked down. "This…" he pointed towards the door. "This is out of our control and that what scares me." He frowned. "You said something before, about Steve taking care of Grace… and as comforted I am knowing that he will protect my daughter, I also know to what lengths he would be willing to do that."

Catherine's eyes darted up to his.

"Knowing that about Steve… that's why we find them as soon as possible." Danny whispered.

She nodded. "Let me get some of the trail maps out."

"Thank you." Danny answered.

 **H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50**

Most of his body was protected by warm clothing, except for his torso, which ironically was the one place that counted. He could feel his condition worsening and it worried him. He needed enough strength to help Grace out when the time came. If only he could work out a way to get some heat.

He suddenly remembered the small heat pads he'd pushed into the front pocket of his back pack before they'd left. They seemed like a good idea at the time, a small and sturdy bag of gel with an almost solid centre. When crushed the chemicals would mix causing a reaction which would generate heat. There was four in there. If he could use two to help heat up his core up, even just a bit, then perhaps that would bide him some time.

He grabbed the bag from beside of him and dragged it weakly onto his lap before glancing over in Grace's direction. She was struggling to stay awake now that her energy levels had dropped. "Gracie… kiddo, you need to stay awake. I know it's hard, I know you're tired, but you need to try." He pulled out a snack bar from the bag and handed it to her. "You need to eat something." He whispered.

She hesitated for a moment before registering the fact that it was not a suggestion but more of an order. She nodded as she took the snack bar from his grip.

He then moved to the front pocket of the bag, immediately locating the heat pads. The anticipation of actually feeling some warmth was overwhelming as he pulled them out. Suddenly his attention was drawn to Grace's hands, she'd removed her gloves to open the wrapper on the snack bar, but that action had also uncovered her dusty finger tips. Steve knew it was the start to frost bite and had to be dealt with. "Grace… are your hands cold?"

"No, not really." She answered innocently.

He slid himself toward her with the heat pads in one hand. "You need to hold on to these for a while." He said, snapping the solid centre and, for a moment, feeling the warmth that was generated. "Here…" he whispered as he passed them to her. "Okay?" he smiled softly.

"Okay…" she whispered cautiously.

He reached back into the bag for the last two heat pads but hesitated. What if Grace needed them later on? He couldn't use them, he couldn't bring himself to right now. In that instant he found himself shivering uncontrollably and violently and his energy levels plummeted. He needed a distraction for them both. He dropped the bag heavily, to the side, and looked at Grace. "Let's talk." He whispered as he rested his head back against the wall of rock behind him, tensing his body enough to quell the violent shivering.

"About what?" she shrugged gently.

"Anything…" he shook his head.

She gave it a moment's thought before her eyes seemed to light up. "Is Catherine coming back home with us?"

Steve let out a feeble laugh which progressed into a cough. When he composed himself he looked at her. "Really?"

"You said anything." She smiled.

"Yes I did." He nodded. "I don't know… we haven't talked about it yet. She has some things she needs to do on the mainland for now, but I guess she will come home eventually." He said, desperately trying to fight off the need to close his eyes and sleep. Even talking seemed to be draining him.

"I want her to come home." Grace nodded.

"You do?"

She nodded. "Because then you'll be happy again."

Steve hadn't expected Grace to read him so deeply. "You think I haven't been happy?"

"You were like Danno when he and mom split up. Sad." She answered. "You just did a better job at hiding it."

He grinned weekly. "Just not from you."

She smirked and shook her head. "Danno always says that you bring people together. Try to make things better for everyone else. But he says he doesn't think you know how to do it for yourself."

Steve's eyes drifted down as he gave her words some thought. "That's just it, Grace. Right now, with the exception of Catherine not being Oahu, I'm happier than I have been since I was your age." He answered quietly, struggling to get the words to a sentence together as his mind grappled with the freezing air. "I don't have much of a relationship with my mom, my dad's gone… Mary and I are better but still not as close as I would like." He drew back a deep breath as he felt his lungs tighten. "But despite the circumstances that brought me back to the island, I struck gold." He nodded slowly. "I got a whole new family… with you and Danno… Kono, Chin, Lou, Max… and the rest of the crazies that make us up." His lips thinned with appreciation. "I haven't felt alone in years… so I got all that I need."

Grace glared at him.

"What?" he asked between heavy breaths.

"You don't look to good." She whispered as she noted how pale his skin was turning and the blue tinge of colour around his lips seemed much more pronounced.

He looked up to the opening, the snow had eased considerably and the signs of first light was filtering through. "Listen to me… I got to get you out of here… I'm going to lift you up and I need you to try and climb out."

"Then what?" She shook her head with doubt.

"Carefully make your way down the mountain."

"I don't want to leave you here." She replied with a distraught inflection.

"You'll see someone the closer you get to the cabin, they can get help." He said softly. "I can't get out of here by myself. You have to go to help both of us."

"I can't." she shook her head.

"Grace…" he pleaded. He knew his next words would frighten her, but he knew the situation was dire and he needed her to understand that. "I don't know how much longer I can go like this. I need you to help me."

She nodded with concern as the full realization hit her. "Okay."

Steve pushed himself to his feet, his limbs so numb and heavy they felt like stone. His body just couldn't take it, he knew it was too late. His knees buckled from underneath him, causing him to fall heavily onto the icy ground.

"Steve…" Grace called as she stepped over to him.

He pulled himself back and leant against the rock, uncomfortably and slightly on his side. He wasn't prepared to admit defeat yet, convinced that this was a mind over matter thing, he could work himself back into the right mind set. But his body was giving up, slowly it was shutting down and no matter what he could get his mind to think he could never get his body to comply.

For the first time, throughout the whole ordeal, Grace could see that Steve was losing confidence and his tough exterior was starting to crack. He seemed agitated, confused and distressed, a far cry from his usual composed self. As he gave in to his body's need for rest he leant his head back and became almost motionless. He kept his eyes on Grace, his expression spoke a thousand words, all apologies for not getting her out of there.

Grace suddenly felt a rush of anxiety, she'd never seen him give up before. She wasn't going to let it happen now without a fight. She removed the jacket that he had given her, and rested it over his torso before laying her head down on his chest in the hope that her body heat would pass on to him.

His eyes closed briefly, squeezing them together and forcing a tear to fall down his cheek. He'd been moved by her actions, even if he wanted to argue the point of taking off the jacket. The warmth he could feel from the extra layer was indescribable, but he knew it would be short lived and almost certainly not enough to bring him back.

She could hear his heart beating but she knew it was dangerously slow, as too was his breathing.

 **H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50**

Catherine pushed a handful of supplies into a large backpack before picking up the trail map and heading out the door. "Danny?" she called out, frowning.

"Hey…" he said as he appeared. "The old timer in the cabin down there… he said he spoke to Steve yesterday morning. Told him the best trails to use."

"Okay, did he have any clue which one they'd be on?" she said as she opened the map up.

"He suggested the old back country trail if the weather turned nasty. He also said that the search guys may not have checked that trail yet because it's only really the locals that know about it."

"Sounds like it's a good place to start." Catherine nodded.

 **H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50**

Grace opened her eyes, something had jolted her from her sleep but she didn't know what. She also had no gauge on time. No idea how long she'd slept for, but the sun was starting to shine in. She looked around, remembering what had happened and why she was there, then suddenly remembering Steve.

She looked up to his face. His eyes were closed, his eyelashes covered in fine drops of ice, his skin almost translucent and yet tinted blue over most of the exposed skin. Her eyes widened. "Uncle Steve?" She said, her face creasing with concern. "Wake up." She said, shaking his body, but he was so incredibly cold and almost frozen solid. "Steve!" she shouted before resting her head down on his chest again, listening for his heart beat, but she heard nothing. "No. No." she shook her head. "Help!" she called out, the terror in her voice clear. "Help!" she said standing up and looking up to the void.


	3. Chapter 3

"Steve!" Danny called as he forced himself to keep moving in the knee deep snow, scanning his surroundings as they went. "Gracie!"

"Grace!" Cath shouted. She glanced at Danny. "We're almost at the summit."

"They could be buried anywhere on this mountain." Danny sighed as he stopped, his rush of adrenaline he'd had seemed to have been swapped with hopelessness.

"Steve!" Cath continued, she wasn't about to give up.

"This is close to where Grace's cell was last logged." Danny said as he looked at the information on his screen.

"Danny, we have to be in the right place." She answered positively. They stopped, motionless in the snow, the stillness seemed unnatural. Catherine frowned. "Did you hear that?"

"No. What?" he shook his head.

"Listen…" she nodded.

They waited for what seemed like an eternity before they both heard a frantic cry. "Help!"

"That's got to be Grace." Danny gushed as he scrambled to the side of the trail. "Grace!"

"Dad!" she called again.

"Somewhere over there…" Catherine pointed under the treeline.

"Grace!" Danny called. "We got you baby, just keep calling so we can follow your voice."

"Danno!" she continued.

Danny rushed over to a mound of snow, as soon as he got close enough he could see a gap in the ground. "Grace?" He called as he threw himself in his chest to position himself to look down. He could see her eyes, looking up at him. "Oh thank god… Grace, you okay?" The unstable opening gave way slightly with his weight and sent a handful of small broken rocks down into the void.

Grace cried out with concern as Danny moved back and out of sight. "Grace, talk to me. Steve there?"

She paused before she reluctantly answered. "He was so cold, he couldn't stay awake. I tried to get him warm again, but I don't think it worked."

"Grace…" he said before pausing, reluctant to ask her but already knowing what she was implying. "What are you trying to say?"

"He won't talk, I can't wake him up… I think he's dead, Danno."

Catherine's eyes opened wide as she listened to the little girl, she glanced at Danny who had turned to her with concern. "Listen to me… tell me why you think that?"

"I can't hear his heart beat any more."

Catherine stood up and pulled her cell phone from her Jacket, dialling a number without hesitation. "Matt, its Catherine. We've got them. We need an immediate rescue and extraction from the mountain. I'll send you through the coordinates. Grace is conscious, but Steve… he's not responding."

"Okay, Gracie… you got to listen to me." Danny said as he took control. "I'm going to get you out of there, but I need your help first."

"Yeah." She called out.

"Give me a minute, okay? I'm not going anywhere." Danny said encouragingly.

Catherine ended the call, turned and walked back to Danny with urgency. "They have two choppers inbound, teams are on board. They'll be here in 15 minutes." She nodded.

"Okay… I need to start throwing down some things you have in the bag." Danny nodded calmly. "I'm going to get Grace to treat Steve while we wait."

"You know about hypothermia?" Catherine asked.

"I've had my fair share of experience being a beat cop involving a string of incidents with the Hudson in the height of winter. I've seen the ambos do their thing enough to give it a shot." He nodded as he grabbed supplies from the bag. "I'll walk Grace through it."

Catherine's face creased as she raised her hand to her mouth. "What if she's right? What if he's dead, Danny?"

Danny stood up and grabbed her arms. "Catherine, listen to me. He's not dead, and we are not going to let him die. Okay?" he said with utter confidence. He wasn't prepared to give up since he'd witnessed sheer miracles before when it came to this kind of thing. "Trust me… Trust Steve. He's tough. Okay?"

Catherine nodded and composed herself.

Danny knelt back down to the bag and grabbed more things out, laying them on a towel. "Okay, Gracie. I can't come close, what I'm going to do is throw some things down and I'm going to tell you what to do."

"Okay." Grace called out, her voice shaky and distressed.

"Grace, you got this. I know you can do this. You just got to help Steve until the rescue team get here." Danny said encouragingly before wrapping a whole catalogue of things in the towel and standing up. "I'm going to throw this package in… you ready?"

"Yeah." Grace answered, her voice now confident.

Danny tied the corners of the towel together, so as to seal it. He placed it in his hands and threw it, sending it down into the void.

"I got it."

"Good. Good." He sighed with relief. "Okay, Grace. You're doing great. I want you to open the towel."

She scrambled to untie the makeshift package. "Done."

"Good… tell me something… Steve's clothes, are they wet?"

"Just his top, it's like ice." She answered.

"Is Steve lying flat on the ground?"

"Yes." She said, looking at him.

"Okay, there's an emergency blanket, it's in a small plastic cover. Looks like foil." He instructed. "I want you to lie that flat on the floor next to him."

Grace ripped open the cover and opened up the large blanket, placing it as flat as she could on the ground. "Done."

"Okay, get the wool blanket and put that on top of the emergency blanket."

She hurried following Danny's instructions. "What now?"

Danny sighed, he knew this was where they would have difficulty but they had to find a way. "Grace, you need to get Steve on those blankets."

Grace looked at Steve, she knew she wasn't strong enough to drag him.

Danny was troubled by the silence. "Don't worry about hurting him, just try and do it anyway you can, Grace."

She grabbed Steve's bag and put it down next to him. She picked up his leg, closest to the blankets, and pushed it over the other. She moved to his arms, doing the same thing. She was relieved when she noticed the ground was slightly sloped and that it was going to work in her favour. She positioned herself by the side of Steve's shoulders, using all her energy to roll him onto his side.

"Grace, baby… how you going?"

"I've got him on his side." She called out.

"That's great, Grace. That's really good work. So here's what I want you to do. Grab the one edge of the blankets, gather them up and put them as far under Steve as you can. When you've done that, try rolling him back down again and then pull as much of the excess underneath his side. You understand?"

"Yeah…" she nodded as she followed his instructions. Steve was no way near in the centre of the blankets but it was good enough for now. "What do I do now?"

"Okay Grace. You got to be quick with the next couple of things. I need you to cut the wet clothes off him."

Grace looked around at the supplies, noting the large medical scissors. She grabbed them then took to his sweatshirt and tee.

"You've got some heat packs, you need to activate them." Danny continued.

"I know how to do it." She answered. "Steve had these earlier."

"Okay, good. You need to put two in the area between his chest and his collar bone, both sides."

Grace cracked the gel packs and placed them down.

"The next two need to go on his chest. And then one on his abdomen." He called out. "You got that?"

"Yeah." She replied.

"You're doing so well Gracie…" Catherine shouted.

"It's done." Grace called out after a couple of minutes.

"Okay. Great work. Now this is the easy part. I want you to grab the bottom of the blankets and I want you to fold them over his feet." He paused. "Then grab one of the sides and fold that over him, then do the same with the other side."

Grace followed the instructions to the letter.

Two low flying helicopters skimmed the trees above them. Danny looked up as the breeze from their rotors whipped the cool air up. "You hear that Grace? That's the rescue team, okay?"

Grace's attention was back on Steve and how scared she was. She'd been running on adrenaline and distracted while treating him, but now she was looking at his pale and lifeless features once more. She felt alone and scared again.

"Grace. You okay?" Danny asked.

She sobbed quietly as she rested her head back down on Steve's chest again, wrapping her arms tightly around him.

 **H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50**

Matt was carefully lowered down into the tomb, as his feet touched down he released the ropes, freeing himself and looking at the young girl. "Grace?" he said softly as he stepped around the pair to look at her. "Grace, my name's Matt, I'm from Mountain Rescue."

Grace's grip tightened onto Steve.

"Let's get you out of here and you can see your Dad."

"I don't want to leave him." She answered quietly, but her voice indicated she was beyond distressed.

"Okay." He nodded. "Okay… I understand. You've done a great job of looking after him and I know you want to keep doing that, but you're going to have to let go of him so that I can help."

"He's not waking up." She whispered.

"Grace, I'm not going to lie to you… he's really sick… but what you've done so far means that we can get him to the hospital and help him much quicker. You want that, right?" he answered softly.

She nodded. "I still can't hear his heartbeat."

"That doesn't mean it's not there." He answered encouragingly. He knelt down next to her. "You're going to feel my hand on your shoulder, okay?" he said, reaching out and making contact. "You just need to let go…" he whispered, pulling her up and into his arms.

Grace buried her head into Matt's shoulder, prompting a rush of tears and inconsolable sobbing. "It's okay sweetheart, you've done so well."

Danny paced around nervously as he waited for Matt to call up. The team started to pull the ropes on their colleague's instruction, as Grace was carefully lifted up through the rocky opening. "Grace…" he sighed with immeasurable relief and stepped over, hugging her tightly. "You alright?"

She nodded.

Catherine brushed her hand down Grace's long hair.

"Sir, we need to go." A young man from the team said as he approached.

Danny frowned. "What are you talking about? I'm staying here until you get my partner out."

"Your daughter needs to be checked out at the hospital." He nodded.

"Danny, you take Grace. I'll stay here and wait for Steve." Catherine nodded.

"I'm sorry ma'am… but the orders are for all three of you to be transported in the first flight." The man answered.

"I'm not leaving him." Catherine argued.

"They're going to need all the space they can get in that aircraft." The man replied.

Danny glanced at Catherine, something wasn't right.

"No, you're not telling us something." Catherine shook her head.

The man hesitated before he sighed. "It's going to take some time to get him out of there. He needs to remain horizontal, so as not to shock the body any more. At the moment we can't lift him out like that through the gap we've got. We're going to have to work at opening it up more."

"Well then let me stay and help you." Catherine insisted.

"Ma'am. That's the situation and those are the orders. I'm sorry."

She nodded, squeezing her eyes together to release the tears that were pooling in her eyes. "Okay." She whispered.

 **H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50**

The rotors of the helicopter cut through the sub zero air above them, as they headed to safety. Soaring above the snow capped mountains, back to civilization. Back to the real world. But what kind of world had they been left with?

Catherine sat dazed on one of the bench seats, glaring into thin air, her eyes were vacant yet her expression showed that of complete devastation. Her body rocked, surrendering to every movement of the aircraft.

Danny sat opposite her, with Grace wrapped protectively in his arms. Truth be told, he didn't know who was protecting who. If she hadn't have been here, if he hadn't needed to be strong for her, he would have lost the hold on his emotions some time ago. She was the only thing forcing him to remain composed.

"This is my fault, Danno." Grace said softly as she looked up at her father.

He frowned, pained that she could even think such a thing. "No baby. Don't you think that for one minute." He whispered sincerely. He could still feel her shivering despite of the warmed blankets she'd been wrapped in. Her lips tinged with blue, the skin cracked from the elements. "It's going to be ok… it's going to be fine…" he continued before his eyes drifted over to a jacket, belonging to Steve, carelessly discarded on the floor of the helicopter when she'd gotten in and immediately treated by the rescue medics. His heart sank, he could feel the rush of sadness engulf his mind and his eyes started to burn as the tears welled in his eyes. "Just relax… okay" he whispered as he pulled her tighter against his chest.

 **H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50**

Grace sat with her legs hanging off the side of the bed in the ER, she hadn't said a word to anyone since they had landed. Danny sat on a chair in front of her, not knowing what to say or do to make her feel any better.

Catherine stepped into the cubical and pushed her cell phone into her pocket. "I just updated Kono."

"She okay?" Danny asked.

"Yeah, she said that she and Chin were going to work on a medical transfer back to the island when Steve is stable enough to travel."

"Let's just hope that's soon, huh?" Danny whispered, flicking his eyes to Grace and then back to Catherine.

The doors to the ER burst open, prompting a rush of activity. Catherine turned to the commotion, Danny looked over and Grace's eyes opened wide as she too was distracted by the sound.

"Steve…" Catherine whispered under her breath.

Grace jumped off the side of the bed and ran past Danny and Catherine toward the flurry of people.

"Grace! Grace!" Danny called as he followed her. "Grace, let them do their jobs."

She tried to get close but the solid band of people around the gurney kept her back.

"Hey, monkey… come on…" he said as he put his hands on her shoulders. "Listen… he's here, they got him this far. You don't have to be worried about him right now. You got him through the hard part." Danny said encouragingly. "Alright?"

She nodded gently.

"Grace… what are you doing up?" a female nurse asked softly. "Come on… I'll take you back to your bed and we can look at those finger tips. Let your dad stay out here for a minute."

"Thank you." Danny whispered.

"No problem. Take all the time you need." The nurse answered back sympathetically.

"What have we got?" A doctor asked as he snapped some latex gloves on.

"Commander Steven McGarrett. Thirty six year old male, severely hypothermic. Twenty hours exposure, non-responsive for approx. 4 hours." The choppers doctor informed them as they wheeled Steve into a dedicated cubicle. "Active rewarming therapy was started in the field 90 minutes ago, his temp on our arrival was 25 degrees, now 27 degrees. We've treated him with warmed saline IV, oxygen and heat blankets on the ride in. Cardio output isn't being picked up by our equipment."

"Let's get the ECG hooked up." The doctor nodded to the nurses. "1 ml of Atropine IV, full blood work and get the OR on standby for cardiopulmonary bypass procedure."

The group of people worked with ease and calmness. They had seen it many times before being the main hospital that serviced the ski fields. It was the best place to be.

A few minutes had passed when the nurse had a good reading off the data. "He's bradycardic." She frowned. "BP, 82/53. 37 beats per minute. Resps, 10 per minute and shallow. Temp is still at 27 degrees."

"Okay, he's too unstable to wait. Intubate and let's get him up to theatre." The doctor nodded before he pushed through the doors he smiled sombrely at Danny and Catherine. "You're family?"

Danny drew back a deep breath and shuffled on his feet. "Not technically but both of us are listed as next of kin back home. Steve doesn't have much in the way of family."

"Okay." The doctor nodded. "He's critical but I'm hoping we've got to him in time. They're taking him up to the OR to put him on Cardiopulmonary bypass."

"What is that?" Catherine frowned.

"It's where we tap into femoral vein, circulating his blood through a machine that oxygenates and heats before returning the blood back into the body, through the femoral artery. It's a common procedure for patients suffering from hypothermia."

"How long will it take?" Catherine asked.

"It could take an hour, it could take a couple… it depends how quickly his body reheats."

"And when you get the temperature back up, what happens then?" Danny asked.

"His heart is beating, although very slowly. It's acceptable for a person with a low core temperature, but once we get him back up to at least 32 degrees we want to see it beating faster. If it's still slow or if he should go into cardiac arrest, we'll handle it to the best of our abilities."

The nurses pushed the gurney through the door. Danny looked down to see Steve's face, incredibly pale aside from the obvious patches of frostbite. He pushed back the wave of emotions that hit him, his eyes glistening with tears and yet an anger so deep, for the situation, he just wanted to punch the wall.

Catherine raised her hands to her head and winced with distress as the team disappeared toward the elevators.

"I should go with them." The doctor said.

"Okay, thank you." Danny sighed.

"Sit tight. I'll come find you as soon as we know more." The doctor nodded.

"Come here…" Danny said, pulling her toward him and hugging her.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Danny sighed as he pushed the curtain back to enter the cubical Grace was in. He thinned his lips softly as he lifted his cell phone up. "That was your mom."

Grace's eyes floated up to him.

"She wants you on the first flight back." He said as he slumped down.

"What about Uncle Steve?" she shook her head.

Danny was caught off guard, what about Steve? He hadn't even begun to think about what this meant for him.

"You can't leave him, Danno." Grace replied.

Danny agreed, it was the last thing he wanted to do but Rachel's request was clear and left no room for negotiation. "I'll fly home with you and come straight back. I'd be 24 hours, tops."

"You can't leave him on his own." Grace whispered softly.

"Catherine would stay." Danny answered, eager to ease her concerns.

Grace's expression hardened. "Tell mom I don't want to leave. Not yet." She begged gently.

Danny sighed sympathetically. "Trust me, I've tried."

"Detective Williams?" The doctor said as he looked around the curtain.

"Yes?" Danny said as he looked up.

"Do you have a minute?"

"Of course." He nodded before looking back at Grace. "I'll try again, but I got to say Grace, you know your mom, once her mind is made up it stays that way."

Grace nodded before Danny stood up and disappeared to the other side of the drape.

"How is he?" Danny asked.

"Things are going slow." The doctor nodded. "His heart rate and breathing isn't recovering as quickly as we'd like. If we take his temp back up to normal range the way he is now, we risk causing more damage. We'll be monitoring his vitals carefully over the next couple of hours until hopefully he stabilizes."

Danny sighed with desperation.

The doctor thinned his lips sympathetically. "We do see this happen a lot, and many people go on to make full recoveries. We're not overly worried right now. Let's just wait and see how he goes."

Danny nodded with relief. "Can I see him any time soon?"

"Of course. He's in ICU on the second floor."

"Thank you." Danny nodded before heading back into the cubicle. "I'm calling your mom. I'll be right back, okay?"

Grace nodded. She waited until she was sure Danny had walked away before she peeped out from behind the curtain. There was no one around, at least no one really taking notice. She lowered her head and hurried toward the elevators.

 **H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50**

Grace stepped out of the elevator and read the signs immediately before her. ICU was left and as she looked down toward the location she could see some glass doors and people bustling around behind. She walked towards them, pushing one of the doors open. Her eyes were wide open, she knew she shouldn't be here and she knew she would probably get turned back but she had to try. She stepped forward, noticing a vacant nurse's desk. The room looked like the ER, only there were many more noises from machines and lots of monitors. The patients seemed to be under a magnitude of medical equipment so identifying Steve was made even harder. She spun around, overwhelmed by her surroundings and the poor people in there.

She felt her chest tighten with fear as she turned and hurried back towards the doors.

"Hey…" A young nurse said as she gently gripped Grace's shoulder. "You looking for someone?"

Grace swallowed the lump that had formed in the back of her throat. "No, it's okay." She said softly. "I shouldn't be here anyway."

"Grace Williams, right?" the nurse said with a gentle smile.

"How do you know?" she asked softly.

"Your medical band…" the nurse widened her smile. "My name's Liv. So who are you looking for Grace?"

Grace hesitated for a moment, she didn't appear to be in trouble and the nurse seemed nice. "Steve McGarrett."

"You're the girl who was trapped with him, right?"

Grace nodded.

"I heard what you did. It was very impressive." She replied. "Are you still supposed to be in the ER?"

She nodded. "I just wanted to sit with him for a while."

"Well we're not supposed to let visitors in without permission from the next of kin but, since it's you… I think we can make an exception." The nurse smiled. "You might even help." She pointed over to a curtain. "He's over here."

Grace followed the nurse cautiously.

"Kim, would you call the ER and let them know that Grace Williams is up here, and that she's fine to stay if they are happy. They'll be looking for her." Liv called out to another nurse.

"Sure." The nurse nodded as she picked up the phone.

"Now Grace, it's going to look a bit scary… he's got a lot of things going on around him right now, but what you need to remember is that he is doing fine." She nodded.

"Okay." Grace answered with hesitation.

Liv peeled back the curtain gently. Grace shuffled back with fright as she saw Steve enveloped with tubes and wires, lying flat with machines lined up around him, flashing and beeping.

"Here…" Liv said as she grabbed a chair from a vacant bedside. "Why don't you sit down?"

Grace glared at her, her eyes widened with alarm.

"Grace, I promise you. It's okay." She nodded. "Come on… take a seat. I'll stay with you if you like?"

The young girl slowly inched towards the chair, finally getting there and sitting down gently.

"All these machines, they're helping us get his body back to normal." The nurse explained. "This one is used to warm his blood back up." She pointed. "This one is helping him breath. And these are monitoring his vitals."

"The doctor said he wasn't doing very well." Grace whispered.

"He's just taking his time." The nurse nodded. "We'd like to see his heartrate come back up a little bit more, so we can continue on with the warming."

Grace nodded, though her eyes were fixated on Steve's face.

"So tell me, how do you know Steve?"

The young girl lowered her head. "He's my dad's partner. They're police officers."

"Wow…" Liv said softly. "But you're close, huh?"

Grace nodded. "He's like a second dad, uncle and friend rolled into one. I'm closer to him than my stepfather." She whispered. "My dad is the best dad in the world, but I can't always talk to him about everything. I know that sounds bad."

"No." Liv shook her head and frowned. "No, not at all. I totally get it."

"So, if I'm in trouble or I need something… I talk to Uncle Steve, and he helps me. And if it's something that Dad needs to know about, he'll talk to him for me."

Liv smiled softly as she glanced up to the monitor, his heartrate seemed to be picking up slightly. "That's so nice, Grace. You're lucky to have that kind of friendship."

She lowered her head, she was completely silent but tears gently dropped from her eyes.

"Hey…" Liv said quietly as she knelt down next to Grace. "Don't cry."

She hesitated for a moment before turning her head slightly towards the nurse but avoiding eye contact. "He's my dad's best friend. They're like brothers. I don't know what he would do if Uncle Steve died." She connected her sight with the nurses. "And if he does die, it would have been because of me, because he was protecting me. Dad would never show it, but I'm afraid he'll always blame me deep down."

Liv noted that his heartrate had picked up even more, perhaps in response to Grace's voice or even her concerns. Whatever it was, the young girl's presence seemed to be helping. "I don't know your dad, Grace. But I don't think he would blame you for an accident."

Danny pushed through the doors and looked around the room to see Grace. He sighed as he walked over.

"You must be Grace's dad." Liv said as she stood up and smiled.

"Danny." He nodded before he looked at Steve. He winced and thinned his lips with worry.

"Did you speak to mom?" Grace asked.

"Yeah…" he whispered. "I'm sorry monkey, she'd already booked tickets on a flight out tonight. We have to go."

Grace sat motionless for a moment before she shook her head. "No." she said strongly.

"Grace, I don't like it any more than you do." Danny said, confused by her uncharacteristic stubbornness. "I'll get the first flight back in the morning."

"No. Dad." She shook her head. "We're not leaving him."

"I'll just be over at the desk if you need me." Liv excused herself subtlety.

Danny thinned his lips with gratitude and nodded as the woman walked away. He sighed as he walked over to Grace. "Okay… cards on the table. What's going on?"

"Catherine isn't coming back until the morning. We are supposed to be getting on a flight back home. Who is going to be here with Uncle Steve?"

Danny hesitated, he couldn't give an answer because he somehow knew whatever he said wasn't going to be good enough for Grace.

"And that's if Catherine comes back."

"What do you say that for?" Danny frowned.

Grace shrugged as she lowered her head.

"Grace, please. Talk to me." Danny pleaded softly.

She paused for a moment before looking up at him. "He said he was the happiest he'd been in a long time, because he didn't feel alone anymore. Because he felt like he had family."

Danny frowned.

"You and me. We're his family." She added. "So we can't just go when he needs us the most. And we can't just leave him alone." She winced with sadness. "Because, what if he didn't get better, he got worse and he didn't have anyone here who cared about him…?"

"Hey…" Danny said, reaching out and embracing her as she sobbed. "Why didn't you tell me this right from the start?"

"I didn't know if he'd want me to say anything." Grace answered.

Danny smiled softly, if nothing else she had certainly inherited Steve's loyalty. "I'll call your mom again. I'll make her understand." He whispered.

"Is she going to get mad?" Grace asked.

"Probably, but I'll handle it. She'll understand when I explain how you're feeling." Danny answered. "Okay?"

She nodded and offered a faint smile. "Okay." She whispered.

An alarm sounded as numbers flashed up on the monitor. Both Danny and Grace were troubled by the sudden rush of medical staff around them.

"What's wrong?" Danny asked with concern.

"Absolutely nothing." Liv smiled. "It's just telling us that his heartrate is up enough to proceed with the bypass." She answered. "This is good."

Danny dropped his shoulders with relief.

"Looks like your girl could have revived him twice in one day." Liv nodded. "A life saver."

Danny looked at Grace proudly. "She's saved me enough times." He kissed her on the head before he sighed. "I'll call your mom again."

Grace curled her lip to one side.

"She's okay here, I'll keep an eye on her." Liv replied.

"Thanks." Danny whispered before kissing Grace on the head. "I'll be back soon."

Grace's eyes were fighting sleep as she sat quietly with Steve. She was exhausted having not had much sleep since the whole ordeal had started. She leant forward onto the bed, close to his hand, resting her head down on the blanket. She paused for a moment before carefully moving her hand to Steve's by his side, her finger tips touching his, contact she felt he needed. For the first time in hours she felt safe again. She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50

It couldn't have been more than ten minutes before she was snapped from her sleep by the grip of a hand on hers. Grace opened her eyes and for a moment took some time to focus. She lifted her head up to see his eyes open and the sounds of coughing.

"Uncle Steve?" She called out as she stood up.

Liv rushed over, placing her hand on his chest soothingly as she and the doctor helped remove the tube from his mouth. "It's okay, try to relax." The nurse said softly.

He gasped for air, filling his lungs with his first unaided breath with such need, like he'd been suffocating for hours. "Grace…" he gasped.

"Uncle Steve." She said as she moved into his line of sight.

He closed his eyes with relief, thankful that she'd made it out seemingly unscathed.

"You tell me your name?" Liv asked.

He hesitated for a moment, not because of memory but because he was still trying to catch his breath through all of the emotions he'd felt. "Steven. Steven McGarrett."

"Good. And what year are we in?"

"2015." He replied.

Liv smiled. "Excellent. Top marks."

Danny entered the room and glanced over, taking a double take to believe Steve's eyes were open. He sighed with relief as he hurried over. "Hey buddy, how you doing?"

"Better for seeing you guys." He replied softly.

Grace turned to Danny, offering him a 'told you so' kind of look.

Danny grinned. "You can thank Gracie for that on more than one level." Danny nodded as he hugged her tightly. "Seems you two make a good team at looking out for one another. Perhaps she should babysit you more often?"

Steve reached out for her hand again, grasping it tightly before he closed his eyes.

"We're going to need him for a little while." Liv nodded. "Nothing sinister, just run some tests."

"Is he going to be okay?" Grace asked with concern.

"I think he's going to be just fine." Liv nodded. "And I also know that the ER are looking to discharge you once the doctor has given you the all clear."

"But…" Grace said looking to Steve.

"It's okay. I'm okay." Steve whispered as he opened his eyes. "I'll see you soon."

She nodded, though she was still reluctant.

Danny rolled his eyes slightly. "Figures, she always listens to him." He said as he gripped her shoulders and directed her to the door. "I'll be right behind you." He whispered to Grace before turning back to Steve. "Listen, what you did out there… for Grace, for me…" he paused. "I can't thank you enough."

"Ohana, right?" Steve said softly.

Danny nodded. "Right." He replied.

"She's a great kid, Danny. She means a lot to me." Steve whispered.

Danny shook Steve's hand gently. "You just get back on your feet so we can get back home."

Steve smiled.

"I'll be back soon." Danny nodded.

 **H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50 H50**

Steve sighed as he closed his eyes and rested his head back, he was almost asleep when he heard footsteps approach his bedside. He looked up to see Catherine standing there.

"Hey." She smiled warmly.

"Cath…" he whispered, holding his hand out for hers. "I thought you were heading back to the Cabin?"

"I was half way back when Danny called to tell me you were awake. I can go in the morning, our things will still be there." She inhaled a deep breath and shook her head. "You got to stop doing this, you're running out of lives."

"This is a new one." He smirked.

She raised her eyebrows before sitting down. "So I spoke to the doctor. They want to keep you in for 24 hours, if you haven't had any setbacks in that time then they are happy for us to fly back to Honolulu."

"Us?" he frowned.

"Yeah…" She nodded before she paused. "If you will have me, I want to come home."

He felt a rush of happiness envelope him as his lips thinned. "Are you kidding me?"

"I know now that I don't want to be without you again. I should never have left, I should never have stayed there. I just…" she paused again. "I just want to be with you. That's it. Nothing else matters."

Steve nodded softly, gripping her hand tightly. "That's all I ever wanted." He whispered.

"And yet you held those feelings back just to let me go." She answered, riddled with guilt at how crushing that would have been for him.

"You needed to find your way, you needed to go to know you wanted to come back." He replied. "I couldn't fight that. I just hoped that eventually it would all work out." He smiled. "And it has."

"I love you." She whispered.

"I love you too." He replied sincerely.


End file.
